China could overtake the United States in terms of space capabilities by 2030 if America doesn’t speed up its development, warned Gen. David Thompson, vice chief of space operations for the U.S. Space Force. “The fact [is] that in essence, on average, they are building and fielding and updating their space capabilities at twice the rate we are,” said Thompson during a panel discussion at the Reagan National Defense Forum in California on Dec. 4. “If we don’t start accelerating our development and delivery capabilities, they will exceed us. And 2030 is not an unreasonable estimate.” Thompson added the United States is now in a “strategic competition with China” in many areas in space. “I have no question that we’re fully capable of succeeding in this competition,” he added. This is not the first time that a Pentagon official has warned about China’s advancement in space capabilities. U.S. Air Force …